April: Vegetable Gardening

Vegetables you can plant in April  (NOTE: May 15th is the last average frost date in Ashland, of course this depends on your elevation)

Beets: Plant in two week intervals through June

Broccoli: Early varieties plant April to mid-May.

Brussels sprout: April through May. In late June start seeds for August transplanting. 

Cabbage: April through May 15th

Bush beans: April 15th through July  

Pole Beans: Wait until May! Plant through June

Carrots: Direct seed until June 15th

Cauliflower: Direct seed until May 31.

Chard: Direct seed until May 30th, then again in August/September for winter harvest

Chives: All month

Collards & Kale: All month, then again mid-July through September for October and winter harvest.

Leeks: Plant through May for winter harvest

Lettuce & Endive: Starts can be planted all month.

Onions: Plant by April 30th

Peas:  Plant enation-resistant varieties up until May 15th

Radishes: Direct seed by April 15th

Rhubarb: All month 

Spinach: Slow bolting varieties ( New Zealand Spinach) April 15 to 30th 

Jackson County MG Class: Demystify Vegetable Gardening

Demystify Vegetable Gardening with a Spring Seed to Supper Class

Whether you live in an apartment or on acreage, learn low-cost gardening techniques for building, planning, planting, maintaining, and harvesting a successful summer vegetable garden from Jackson County Master Gardener™ Association members.

Choose a convenient location and join community members for six weekly Seed to Supper classes, learning the ins and outs of good flavor, nutrition, and accomplishment from your bountiful and thrifty new vegetable garden.

Who: Adults        Cost: Free       To Register: Call (541) 841-6487 or email  freshaccess@accesshelps.org

Locations, Dates, Times: Six weeks, during March to June.

OSU Extension Office,
569 Hanley Rd., Central Point,
Thurs, March 26–April 30, 2–4pm

New Beginnings Christian Center,
270 W Evans Creek Rd., Rogue River,
Thurs, April 16–May 21, 2-4pm

Phoenix Elementary,
215 N Rose St., Phoenix,
Tues, April 7–May 12, 5–7pm

Medford Library,
205 Central Ave., Medford,
Wed, March 18–April 22, 2–4pm

Medford YMCA,
522 W 6th St., Medford,
Wed, May 6–June 10, 6–8pm

 

JCMG: Winter Dreams Summer Gardens

Date: Sat, November 2, 2019 Time: 9am-5pm Location: RCC/SOU Higher Education Center 101 S. Bartlett Street, Medford OR With over 30 classes offered, whether you are new to the Rogue Valley, or have gardened here for many years, these presenters will help you learn and grow as a gardener. See the entire 2019 Program Schedule, on the Jackson County Master Gardener™ Association website at: http://jacksoncountymga.org/winter-dreams-summer-gardens-symposium Cost:  $45 for a full day of classes. Early online registration ends at midnight October 20th. Late online registration is $55 and runs from midnight October 20th to midnight October 30th. Registration on day of event is $55 at the door from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on November 2nd. Lunch cost an additional $10, and lunch tickets must be purchased online. Deadline for lunch tickets is October 20th. Lunch can not be purchased on day of the event, only online.

Event: Deer Resistant Plants

Deer Resistant Plants

Date: Thursday, October 3, 2019     Time: 5:30—7:30 pm

Where: OSU Extension Auditorium, 569 Hanley Rd in Central Point.
Cost: Online registration is $10.  Master Gardeners and other OSU Extension volunteers registering online in advance pay $5. Walk-in registration is $15 for members of the public or $10 for any OSU Extension volunteers. 

Register: Online at http://bit.ly/JacksonMGWorkshops or call 541-776-7371 for info.

Description: After 14 years specializing in deer resistant plants at Shooting Star Nursery, Christie Mackison shares her experience with what works in the Rogue Valley, delving into how to incorporate deer resistant plants in your space with techniques to keep deer from feeding in the garden.

Growing Tomatoes

Jackson County (Oregon) Master Gardeners

Growing Tomatoes

  1. Location: Tomatoes do best planted in full sun (at least 6-8 hrs./day of direct sunlight) and not in the same location as plants from the same family such as where tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, potatoes, tobacco; have been planted during the last three years!
  2. Soil preparation: ESSENTIAL for good Adding a generous amount of compost and mixing well into the soil is crucial. DO NOT add additional nitrogen because it encourages leaf growth over root and Flower development; the results will be fewer tomatoes. Add water and let it soak in. Some people like to put a mixture of ¼ cup bone meal, ¼ cup organic tomato-vegetable fertilizer, and 1 tsp. magnesium covered with 2-3″ of soil in the bottom of the hole.
  3. Transplanting and staking:

a. Dig a deep hole, big enough to bury the whole plant except for the top two sets of leaves. Pinch off all but those top two sets of Roots will grow from all the little hairs along the stem, making the plant stronger more stable and the plant can absorb more nutrients.

b. Put the stake in before filling the hole while you can still see the roots. Fill the hole and firm the soil around the roots.  A tomato cage can be used instead of, or with the stake. These supports are more important for both indeterminate and determinate tomatoes.

c. Use a tomato tie to loosely tie the tomato to staking in a figure-8 formation

d. Water well. A good rule-of-thumb is to water when the top 1-inch of soil has dried. This often averages to about l” of water a week in the heat of summer. Watering early in the day is considered a best practice, as the water won’t evaporate too quickly, and any splashs on the plants will dry off as the day warms. It’s better to soak the roots thoroughly once every several days than it is to water lightly every day, as soaking will encourage deeper root growth.

Note: If your plants are looking slightly wilted late in the heat of the day, that’s not necessarily a sign more water is needed. Check the soil first. However, if they are wilted in the morning, if they don’t have signs of a disease, they are in need of water.

e. Mulch to prevent drying and weeds, but keep mulch way from the

5. Planting horizontally:  Soil is warmer at the surface and tomatoes need warm soil, so to take advantage of this, follow the directions above for transplanting except instead of digging a hole, dig a trench about 3″ deep and long enough to hold the tomato plant when laid on its side except for the top two sets of leaves.  Bury the stem and roots in the trench, within 2-3 days, the top part of the plant that is not buried will become vertical.

6.  Blossom-end Rot (BER) : Caused by the plant’s inability to take up enough enough calcium, but rarely due to a lack of calcium in the soil.  If in doubt, do a soil test.

a. Most common causes:

      • Drown and drought watering
      • Damaged roots
      • Planting tomatoes too early. The optimum soil temperature for planting tomatoes is 70° with nighttime air temperature over 50°. Early varieties of tomatoes are less susceptible.
      • Not enough magnesium causing an inability of the plan to take up calcium.
      • BER can’t be cured, only prevented.

Some vocabulary to know:

Determinate: Spreads laterally with little or no staking required. Fruits ripen all at once, therefore good for canning.

Indeterminate: Grows vertically, produces until frost, best if staked or caged, fruit ripens until frost therefore good for fresh eating.

Semi-determinate: Semi-determinate tomatoes, especially beefsteak types, have a growth habit between that of indeterminate and determinate types. They produce vigorous lateral shoots that often terminate in a flowering truss (cluster). As a result, lateral shoots are not usually removed.

Parthenocarpic: Means “virgin fruit” flowers will form fruit without fertilization/pollination, tomato examples include: Oregon Spring, Siletz, Legend (able to set fruit earlier giving ripe seedless tomatoes 10-14 days earlier than other types)

Hardening off: Putting a plant outside for increasing amounts of time and sun exposure each day to get it accustomed to being out of the sheltered greenhouse. Start with a half hour in the shade, gradually working up to all day in full sun.

Jackson County Master Gardeners: Soil Testing

Soil Testing for Gardens and Home Landscapes

Date: Thursday, April 25, 2019
Time: 5:30—7:300 pm
Where: OSU Extension Auditorium, 569 Hanley Rd in Central Point.
Get set for an interactive class in taking a soil sample and interpreting results to improve your garden or home landscape. OSU Extension’s agriculture expert, Dr. Gordon Jones, joins OSU Master Gardener Program Coordinator, Erika Szonntag in evaluating the soil sample you bring—from advance soil sample collection instructions.
Cost: $10 in advance; $15 at the door ($5 discount for Master Gardeners & other Extension volunteers).

Register: Online at http://bit.ly/JacksonMGWorkshops or call 541-776-7371 for info.